Vancouver Adventures: Our Picks for October

From haunted maze walks to immersive exhibits and more, here are our top picks for October

Because of public health orders surrounding COVID-19, all event statuses are subject to change. Please check directly with event websites for updates.

1. Reapers Maze of Terror – Until November

Why not combine a fall favourite with Halloween horror? Reapers Maze of Terror is part of the Reapers Haunted Attraction, now in its 29th year, which features a haunted house and this dark and foreboding maze (where everything goes bump in the night!) and a Chainsaw Massacre experience includes a real chainsaw. 
9423 Gibson Road, Chilliwack; 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday & Saturdays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. other days; $20 to $25; Details online

2. Look Towards the Sun – Until December 23

Bringing together local Indigenous and Chinese Canadian artists, Look Towards the Sun is an artistic exchange between Lam Wong, a Chinese Canadian diaspora artist from Hong Kong and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, an artist of Cowichan and Syilx First Nations ancestry. As communities continue to combat the harmful impacts of anti-Indigenous and anti-Asian racism, Yuxweluptun and Wong remind guests to look towards the sun.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, 578 Carrall Street, Vancouver; Details online

3. Café Buenos Aires: Jose Franch-Ballester and Friends – Friday, October 1

Kicking off the Chan Centre for Performing Arts return to live shows, clarinetist and UBC Music faculty member Jose Franch-Ballester leads a vibrant night of tango music and dance inspired by lively Buenos Aires cabarets. Friday, October 22nd brings big beats, experimental electronics and commanding lyrics from queer, non-binary Filipinx rapper and singer Kimmortal. On Saturday, October 23rd, Locarno takes to the stage, led by Juno-winning Tom Landa on vocals, guitar, along with the eight-stringed jarana, showcasing how the band’s early Afro-Cuban and Son Jarocho folk-inspired sound has evolved to include a host of bold Latin styles. 
Chan Centre for Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent Road, Vancouver; Details online

4. Vancouver International Film Festival – Friday, October 1 to Monday, October 11

Lights, camera, action! The Vancouver International Film Festival celebrates its 40th edition with more than 110 feature films, 77 shorts and 20 events. Opening with inventive biopic The Electrical Life of Louis Wai, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and closing with the fairytale Petite Maman, the latest from French director Céline Sciamm, festival films will be presented in-cinema and available for streaming via VIFF Connect. VIFF Talks take viewers behind the camera, while Totally Indie Day, VIFF AMP and VIFF Immersed conferences support the local creative communities too. 
Various locations; Details online

5. The Sky’s No Limit: Girls Fly Too! – Saturday, October 2 to Sunday, October 3

Fly high with this free event—for all ages and genders—that is intended to inspire female future leaders ‘from shop floor to top floor’ in the aviation, aerospace, marine and defence industries. Meet a NASA astronaut, explore cool aircraft and equipment, take part in activities and hands-on displays from industry experts, and even experience a free flight. 
Abbotsford International Airport, 30440 Liberator Avenue, Abbotsford; 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Details online

6. Latin American Heritage Month Festival – Thursday, October 14 to Tuesday, November 2

Celebrate Latin American Heritage Month in B.C. with Latincouver’s series of interactive events, artists performances, art exhibitions, online workshops, forums and events that commemorate the rich and fascinating Latin-American heritage and its influence in this province, and Canada as a whole. Watch workshops via Zoom or head to Granville Island to take part in a flamenco class, learn capoeira, or visit the ‘Dia de los Muertos’ market. 
Various locations; Details online

7. Whistler Writers Festival – Thursday, October 14 to Sunday, October 17

Celebrating 20 years of literary events, the Whistler Writers Festival returns with 13 reading events and a combination of online, in-person and hybrid formats including festival favourites like the popular Saturday night gala, featuring Thomas King in Conversation with Tanya Talaga. Award-winning authors—including Darrel J. McLeod, Gail Anderson-Dargatz and John Gould—will be teaching 16 workshops in poetry, worldbuilding, memoir and more.
Various locations; Details online

8. Eerie Illusions – Friday, October 22 to Sunday, October 31

Brave Burnaby Village Museum for its spine-chilling transformation, thanks to state-of-the-art lighting, projections, soundscapes and special effects. The fun starts when two eager children discover a book of magical spells, unleashing a torrent of enchantments throughout the village. As the children work to set things right, the village is overrun with unruly spirits, chatty crows and portals to different dimensions and times. Visitors will encounter unique displays, activations and surprises as they explore on a quest to return things to normal.
Burnaby Village Museum, 6501 Dear Lake Avenue, Burnaby; Details online

9. Hallows’ Eve Pop-up Theatre – Saturday, October 23 & Sunday, October 24; Saturday, October 30 & Sunday, October 31

Free, family-friendly fun can be had this Hallows’ Eve. Following last year’s successful Hallows’ Eve Paper Theatre Kit, this beautifully illustrated miniature theatre is coming to life, presented by Gateway Theatre. Heading to the Gulf of Georgia Cannery’s Haunted Sea event and to Aberdeen Centre, a life-size version of this theatre will allow families to be transported into the whimsical world of Hallows’ Eve. The stage is all theirs to play on and bring to life a handful of fun-loving, adventurous characters.
October 23rd & 24th at Gulf of Georgia Cannery, 12138 Fourth Avenue, Richmond; October 30th & 31st at Aberdeen Centre, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond; Free; Details online

10. Imagine Picasso – Wednesday, October 27 (End date TBD)

Get ready to get ‘arty’ with the western Canadian premiere of Imagine Picasso, an immersive exhibit that features more than 200 of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso’s works—from his ‘Blue’ and ‘Rose’ periods on through Cubism and the prolific later years. Annabelle Mauger and Julien Baron have created Imagine Picasso in collaboration with art historian Androula Michael and one of the leading figures of the new French architecture movement, Rudy Ricciotti. The paintings, projected onto nine full-blown Origami-style structures, offer a unique and novel perspective on the work of Picasso, with staging inspired by the paper sculptures Picasso made for his children.
Vancouver Convention Centre East, 1055 Canada Place, Vancouver; From $34.99; Details online